by The Rise and Fall of Three NFL Coaches: Mike McCarthy, Jeff Jagodzinski, and Brad Childress
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Mike McCarthy, Jeff Jagodzinski, and Brad Childress all had promising coaching careers in the NFL that showed early signs of success but ultimately ended in disappointment. While their paths to becoming NFL head coaches differed, each man experienced a meteoric rise only to have their tenure end abruptly. Let’s take a closer look at the careers of these three coaches.
Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy got his start in the NFL in 1993 as the offensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He would spend the next several years climbing the coaching ranks, holding offensive assistant positions with the Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers. McCarthy proved himself as an innovative offensive mind during his time as an assistant.
In 2006, McCarthy got his first opportunity as an NFL head coach when he was hired by the Green Bay Packers to replace the retiring Mike Sherman. McCarthy inherited a Packers team that had gone 4-12 the previous season and many questioned if he was the right coach to turn things around in Green Bay. McCarthy proved the doubters wrong immediately.
In his first season as Packers head coach in 2006, McCarthy led Green Bay to an 8-8 record, a four game improvement from the prior year. McCarthy’s innovative offensive schemes helped quarterback Brett Favre have one of his best statistical seasons. The Packers offense finished 3rd in the league in scoring that year. McCarthy showed he had the ability to motivate and maximize the talent on his roster in just his first season.
The success continued for McCarthy and the Packers over the next few seasons. In 2007, Green Bay went 13-3 and earned the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs. They made it to the NFC Championship game that year before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. McCarthy established himself as a top offensive mind in the league and helped Brett Favre have one of the best years of his career at age 37.
In 2008, McCarthy led the Packers to an 11-5 record and another playoff appearance. The team looked poised to contend for championships for years with McCarthy at the helm. However, the 2008 season would be Brett Favre’s last in Green Bay as he retired after the season. McCarthy now had to prove he could win without a future Hall of Famer under center.
McCarthy met the challenge of moving on from Favre. In 2009, he helped lead quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his first season as the Packers starter. While Green Bay regressed to a 9-7 record that year and missed the playoffs, McCarthy showed he could develop Rodgers into an elite quarterback. The foundation was being laid for future success.
That future success came to fruition in 2010. Led by Aaron Rodgers, who was developing into one of the best quarterbacks in the league under McCarthy’s guidance, the Packers posted a 10-6 record and earned the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs. Green Bay would then go on an improbable playoff run to win Super Bowl XLV, McCarthy’s first championship as an NFL head coach.
The 2010 Super Bowl win cemented Mike McCarthy as one of the best coaches in the NFL. He had taken over a 4-12 team and led them to a title within 5 years. McCarthy had proven himself as not just an offensive guru, but also an excellent leader of men who could motivate players and get the most out of his roster. Green Bay looked poised for a dynasty with McCarthy at the helm.
However, the Packers were never able to replicate the championship success of 2010 during McCarthy’s later years in Green Bay. They made the playoffs in 2011 but lost in the divisional round. In 2012 and 2013, Green Bay posted back-to-back 8-7-1 records and missed the playoffs both years. While Aaron Rodgers was playing at an MVP level, the Packers as a whole were beginning to regress under McCarthy.
Cracks began to show in McCarthy’s leadership of the Packers. Rodgers publicly called out McCarthy’s playcalling and discipline issues began arising. The Packers bounced back with a 12-4 record and NFC Championship appearance in 2014 but lost to the Seattle Seahawks in controversial fashion. Green Bay went 10-6 in 2015 but lost their first playoff game.
By the 2016 season, it was clear McCarthy had lost control of the locker room. The Packers stumbled to a 4-6 start and were in danger of missing the playoffs. In a shocking move, Green Bay fired McCarthy with four games left in the season, ending his highly successful but ultimately disappointing tenure in Green Bay after over 12 years as head coach. McCarthy had taken the Packers to new heights but also oversaw their fall from sustained success in his later years.
Since being let go by Green Bay, McCarthy has not returned to coaching. He has expressed interest in returning but no team has given him another opportunity yet, a surprising fall for a coach who had won a Super Bowl just six years prior. McCarthy’s story shows how quickly fortunes can change in the NFL – he went from champion to unemployed in the span of a few years. Whether McCarthy gets another chance to prove himself as a head coach remains to be seen.
Jeff Jagodzinski
While Mike McCarthy climbed the traditional coaching ladder as an assistant, Jeff Jagodzinski took a more unconventional path to an NFL head coaching job. Jagodzinski got his start in coaching at small Division III school Trine University in the late 1980s before moving to Boston College as their offensive line coach in 1992.
He made his way up to offensive coordinator at Boston College by 1997 and quickly established himself as one of the top offensive minds in college football. Jagodzinski’s offenses put up huge numbers and helped turn Boston College into a contender in the Big East. He caught the eye of NFL scouts with his innovative schemes.
In 2001, Jagodzinski accepted his first NFL job as the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Sherman. He helped the Packers offense finish in the top 10 in the league that season. After just one year in Green Bay, Jagodzinski was surprisingly hired as the head coach of the New York Jets, despite having no previous NFL head coaching experience.
Jagodzinski was just 40 years old when he was handed the keys to the Jets program in 2002. He faced immense pressure to turn around a franchise that had not made the playoffs in eight seasons. Jagodzinski’s energetic personality and offensive wizardry led to optimism he could succeed where others had failed.
However, Jagodzinski’s one season as Jets head coach in 2002 was a disaster. New York stumbled to a 9-7 record, including a six game losing streak midway through the year. Jagodzinski struggled with game management, time management, and motivating his players. The Jets missed the playoffs, and it became clear Jagodzinski was not ready for the challenges of being an NFL head coach.
After just one year, the Jets fired Jagodzinski. He had been given an opportunity most thought was too big for him too fast, and he failed to prove he deserved to keep the job. Jagodzinski bounced around as an NFL assistant for several more years but was never given another shot at a head coaching job. His one year with the Jets showed that offensive wizardry alone does not make one qualified to be an NFL head coach.
Jagodzinski seemed to learn from his mistakes. In 2005, he returned to the college ranks as the offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach at Boston College. He helped lead the Eagles back to prominence over the next few seasons. Jagodzinski was seen as a top candidate for several major college jobs.
Everything changed in 2007 when Jagodzinski accepted an offer to become the head coach at Florida State, one of the top programs in the country. However, before even coaching a game for Florida State, news broke that Jagodzinski had interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the New Orleans Saints without informing Boston College administrators.
Jagodzinski’s actions in interviewing without permission violated his contract. Boston College fired him just weeks before he was set to take over at Florida State. His career imploded due to a violation of trust. Jagodzinski never coached another down and his story serves as a cautionary tale. He flamed out as an NFL head coach too early and let off-field issues sabotage his second chance in the college ranks. Jagodzinski remains one of the great coaching “what ifs” in football history.
Brad Childress
Unlike Mike McCarthy and Jeff Jagodzinski, Brad Childress took a more traditional path to becoming an NFL head coach through many years as a successful assistant. Childress got his start in the college ranks as a wide receivers coach in the 1980s before joining the NFL as a scout for the San Francisco 49ers in 1992.
He worked his way up to offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995-1998, helping lead their innovative “West Coast offense.” Childress established himself as one of the brightest young offensive minds in the game. In 1999, he accepted his biggest opportunity to that point as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings under head coach Dennis Green.
Childress had immediate success running the Vikings offense, helping lead them to the NFC Championship game in his first season.
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